Sarah McLachlan

"It's an amazing luxury to say I'm 31 years old and I'm gonna take a year off. That's pretty amazing." -Sarah McLachlan

Founder of the Lilith Fair, a concert honoring women in music, this Canadian has made a name for herself with songs like "Adia", "Angel", "Hold On", and "Sweet Surrender".

SEX APPEAL

Despite her recent image change to a more sophisticated singer, Sarah still seems to have the folksy look and nature-loving aura. She might come from the same country as Shania Twain, but she can't quite move in the same way.

SUCCESS

She hasn't sold the same amount of albums as Celine Dion, or had number one hits that Mariah Carey did, but Sarah is still an accomplished and successful musician.

Sarah McLachlan Biography

Many famous female singers have originated from Canada, like Joni Mitchell and k.d. lang. Sarah McLachlan is one of the latest success stories. Her sensual voice and natural elegance allow for each of her songs to be an escapade into a fantasy world. Her warmth and soft character make her one of the nicest performers in the business.

She was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia on January 28, 1968. She made her singing start at the young age of 4. Although her first instrument was the ukulele, she pursued her love for music by studying piano and guitar during her school years. She also took singing lessons on an ongoing basis.

At the tender age of 17, she was offered a record contract based on her performance in her first band called October Game. Nettwerk Productions wanted to take her in as a recording artist but Sarah's parents turned down the offer saying that there would be other opportunities and that she was better off attending art school. As planned, she studied at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design. Later, as destiny has its way of sneaking up on people, Nettwerk called again, and on October 2nd 1987, she signed a deal with the label.

Her debut album Touch in 1988, quickly attracted a wide audience of music lovers. Her college radio hit "Vox" aided in the success of her first album which achieved gold status in Canada. By the end of the year, Arista Records had her sign a deal in the United States. Her album was released in the US by 1989. The sales were not as good as expected with the public but critics liked this new pretty face of music.

Her second album Solace in 1991 was once again welcomed with open arms in Canada and became a huge success. Her two singles "Drawn to the Rhythm" and "Into the Fire" became instant hits. At the same time, the US started realizing that she had a lot of potential with this new album offering a more traditional sound with producer Pierre Marchand.

Her 1994 album, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy, followed the live album issued with her Canadian label. This album was to prove her amazing talent and breakthrough potential with melodic songs like "Hold On" and "Good Enough". The slow ascension of the album on American music charts took time but it was a sure bet. Constant airplay for her singles and tour to spice up the record sales allowed the album to go multiplatinum. Her following anxiously awaited and The Freedom Sessions was released, with songs from the Ecstasy album and a cover of the Tom Waits' "Ol' 55", which was later featured on the Boys on the Side soundtrack.

Her artistic creativity made her come up with the inception of an all female festival tour, Lillith Fair, which has a host of female performers. Naming the event Lilith Fair, along with her partners, an eight-week tour was planned in the summer of 1997. The concept was given a test run where McLachlan appeared on a couple of concerts with a few female artists that shared her vision. Its success brought forth the first Lilith Fair concert on September 14th 1996, in Vancouver, B.C. A few of the other performers were Paula Cole, Lisa Loeb, and Michelle McAdorey. In the following months after the successful start of the project, Sarah was back in the studios recording and preparing a new album with a release date coinciding with her next summer tour.

Taking time away from her busy schedule, she got married in 1997 on the beaches of Jamaica with drummer Ashwin Sood. Her secretive nature even kept her Nettwerk contacts in the dark. A few months later, the list of performers for her festival was growing with known names. Jewel, Joan Osborne, and Suzanne Vega were only a few of the big names for the tour. "Vulvapalooza", as McLachlan refers to it, also did the cover of many magazines. In her good-hearted intentions, around $600,000 of the Lilith Fair proceeds were offered to various charities benefiting abused women.

By July 1997, her long awaited fourth album Surfacing, was launched. The single "Building a Mystery" catapulted the album at No. 2 in the US, while reaching No. 1 in Canada. She was benefiting from the incredible success that Lilith generated, which allowed her to sell 3 million copies in the US alone. By the end of the year, she closed off her tour in Florida with a sneak peak at the 1998 edition of the Lilith Fair. In an effort to include more diverse ethnicity with female artists like rapper Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott, Lauryn Hill, and Angelique Kidjo attended. A stop at the Grammies won her two awards: Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Building a Mystery" and Best Pop Instrumental Performance for "Last Dance", both from Surfacing. The Fair ended the following year in the final part of what she had envisioned as a trilogy.